Relevance & Boosting
When to Use
Use this when tuning search result relevance — making the most relevant results appear first.
Decision
| Mechanism | Where | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Field boost | Index → Fields tab | Per-field weight multiplier |
| HTML element boost | HTML Filter processor settings | Boost by H1, H2, H3, strong, em tags |
| Type boost | Type Boost processor | Boost entire entity types/bundles |
| Number field boost | Number Field Boost processor | Boost by a numeric field value |
| Views sort | Views sort criteria | Sort by "Search: Relevance" |
Pattern
Field boost values:
| Content | Recommended Boost |
|---|---|
| Title | 13-21x |
| H1 elements (via HTML filter) | 5x |
| H2 elements | 3x |
| H3 elements | 2x |
| Strong / bold text | 2x |
| Body / rendered HTML | 1x (base) |
HTML Filter element boosts (set in HTML Filter processor settings): - H1: 5, H2: 3, H3: 2, Strong/B: 2, Em/I: 1.5
If using Rendered HTML Output alongside individual fields: - Set Title boost to 13-21x - Set Rendered HTML boost to 0.5 or lower - This prevents rendered output from diluting the title boost
Views sort: Always add "Search: Relevance" sort descending. Views does NOT default to relevance sort — you must add it explicitly.
Common Mistakes
- Wrong: Not sorting by relevance in Views → Right: Default Views sort is not relevance. Without it, results appear in arbitrary order.
- Wrong: Over-boosting one field → Right: A title at 21x with body at 1x means a partial title match outweighs a perfect body match. Balance boosts.
- Wrong: Ignoring HTML filter → Right: The HTML filter processor can boost by element tags inside rendered HTML, giving heading text more weight without separate fields.